People and portraits...what do you think of these?

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

08/31/2005 10:29:27 AM · #1

I am trying to devote more time on people photography and this was my first serious attempt at it last weekend... Please let me know what you think and how can I improve.

Indoor shot with light from the right...

another version with darker shadows

Outdoor shots..
this is around sunset with a golden reflector on the left side

Black and white versions of it..

and finally a little moody shot

Thanks for looking
Gaurawa

irishempress

Nikon D200

08/31/2005 10:46:30 AM · #2

these shots are just gorgeous! i love the b&whites with more contrast in them -- my fav is the last "moody" shot. well done!

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/31/2005 10:53:07 AM · #3

Originally posted by irishempress:

these shots are just gorgeous! i love the b&whites with more contrast in them -- my fav is the last "moody" shot. well done!

thanks Kelly

Ennil

Nikon D200

08/31/2005 11:13:03 AM · #4

I love the indoor shot, especially the first version because personally I prefer a more natural lighting especially in B&W portraits, and here you did a great job with it, a great use of natural lighting. And here as well as the outdoor shot you used the rule of thirds magnificently with the horizontal framing.

In the outdoor shot the model doesn't really look relaxed, like she's gonna blow out laughing after you click the shutter. But the second B&W version I think gave that little grin a bigger attitude, and here the gaze is strong and mystifying.

I love the third shot, beautiful composition and cropping, as well as a quite well done B&W conversion and tonatlity. The man's eyes look far ahead, kind of like he's worried about soemthing but still has the need to be strong, like he's going to part from his lover. Here what's needed is the female model's look to be more interesting, it's as if she's getting bored. But hey, we can still interpret that in another way, she looks tired and kind of sad.

All three beautiful pictures, but my favorite is the first, which is classic yet still original and creative.

mcmurma

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Nikon MF 180mm f/2.8 ED AIS

08/31/2005 11:18:43 AM · #5

Nice work. I prefer the first black and white (not the darker one) and the color version of the second shot.

To me, some images just look better in color, where some can look good in color or BW, and occasionally an image will come along that works better in black and white. I usually do a quick greyscale conversion to see which way its likely to go. If the greyscale looks flat and not as interesting as the color, then there is probably no amount of processing I can throw at it to make it a "great" BW. A good one, perhaps, but if it looks better to me in color, well, then it just looks better in color. No point in fighting it.

Also, like the last shot quite a bit. The grain and the shadows are great.

08/31/2005 11:34:58 AM · #6

Originally posted by Ennil:

Thanks Ennil for such a detailed critique. Appreciate it.

As for the first set ( Arpita's shots), I liked the first b/w but then next day I was playing around and I found that the darker version looks somewhat better and now looking at it again, I am myself confused :)

for the second shot, I have to admit that I find it very difficult to convey to the model what kind of shot I want, I will have to work a lot on posing and also need to work on how to use the light beforehand so that I won't be divided between posing at lighting at the same time during shoot.

08/31/2005 11:38:52 AM · #7

Originally posted by mcmurma:

Thanks Mike !
I still find it very difficult to know if the shot will look better in color or b/w...for some shots, I can tell e.g. the last one posted here, for others I try both...